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First Publised : 2005

Copyright : Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)

Consultant :Dr. Md. Shairul MashrequeProfessor, Department of Public AdministrationUniversity of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Research Members :Abdulla Al MamunMahfuza AktherMuhammed AliKaniz SumaiaShofiul Alam

Data analysis & prepared by :Mahfuza Akther

Photo :Abdulla Al Mamun

Cover Design :Aziz Rahman

ISBN : 984-32-2024-2

Design & Print :ICO, 1CDA C/A, Momin RoadChittagong, Bangladesh.Tel : 031- 611934Mobile : 0189-629519

Tel. & Fax +88-031-672857, Cell: +88-0189-321432, 0171-825068, 0189-373960E-mail: info@ypsa.org, shipbreaking@ypsa.org

www.ypsa.org

House # F10 (P), Road # 13, Block-B, Chandgaon R/AChittagong-4212, Bangladesh.

Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)

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Supported by-manusher jonno

WORKERS IN SHIPBREAKINGINDUSTRIES : A BASE LINE SURVEYOF CHITTAGONG (BANGLADESH)

UNDER THE PROJECT

Advocacy for a public policy to ensurehuman rights in shipbreaking industry.

Implemented by-YPSA

Chapter

YPSA as a voluntary social development organization left behind the 20th year of its journeytowards development. It is well known that, unlike many other national and internationalNGO’s YPSA emerged fully from the community level and community people played themost significant role in the onward movement of YPSA. Hence, from the very beginningYPSA has been working with the people rather than for the people.

YPSA Core programme area is situated in Sitakund, Chittagong. Sitakund, a seashorearea situated a few kilometers north of Chittagong where most of the shipbreaking yardsare concentrated. The workers are working in dangerous working condition but they don’thave safety equipments like helmets, goggles, gloves, boots and work suits, medical facili-ties and moreover financial security. The human rights is seriously violating in this signifi-cant and potential industry. There is no distinct and well-balanced policy for shipbreakingindustries. Actually, still now it is not declared as industry by the government. A well bal-anced policy is necessary to maintain this industry properly and at the same to ensure therights of labour with a sound working environment. Considering the total situation, the teamof Advocacy and Publication (A & P) Unit of YPSA conducted a base line survey that haslots of information about the conditions of labour in the shipbreaking industries.

This document is based on an analysis of existing information and experiences, includingproblems and issues raised by the labour and staffs in and outside the yards.

I would like to express my profound thanks and heartfelt gratitude to the Advocacy andPublication (A & P) Unit and contributors of this research who really worked hard to publishthe report with a view to know the real situation of the labour in the shipbreaking industries.

The study would not have been possible without the generous support of the labour andlocal peoples of shipbreaking yard areas. We are also grateful to them.

I am highly indebted to manusher jonno (MJ) for financial support, professional advice,guidance, encouragement and inspiration for the whole activities of the project.

Finally, I shall feel highly rewarded if this research is found as a background document tosupport formulation of policy for shipbreaking industries and others interested in this con-cern.

(Md. Arifur Rahman)Chief ExecutiveYoung Power in Social Action (YPSA)

Preface

Chapter

Foreword

The study is an attempt to blaze a new field of exploration so far as working class isconcerned. Working class in the shipbreaking industries constitutes a fragile locus sufferingmanifold hazards. Various categories of workers involved in shipbreaking operation re-main outside the purview of policy intervention. Their visibility in a continuous struggle forsurvival with a bitter taste of life has not been translated into an issue of human develop-ment. By now a large contingent of labour forces has been compelled to engage in thisperilous physical labour. The poorest in the hard core poverty line coming from differentdistricts in search of employment in major urban areas have to take position as labour atthe most risk out of dire necessity.Faced with heavy odds of life in an extremely deplorable work environment opportunitiesfor skill development befittingly are few and amenities are not aspired for. Non-availabilityof safety measure poses a great challenge to the workers enhancing uncertainties andrisks. The facilities like health, medical, sanitation and financial security are minimal. As aresult many succumbed to serious diseases /injuries and have been killed in accidents. Thisis quite natural for this industrial environment setting where there is inadequate protectionand inspection.The occupational status of this class of toiling masses does not have any level of socialacceptance. For, scrapping of vessels is perhaps not recognized as an industry. This is nottreated as one of the sub-sectors of the industrial policy; public policies and related laws donot cover the interests of shipbreaking labour. Labour laws in Bangladesh pertinent toworkers rights, wages, benefits, safety, protection and humanitarian treatment are notrelevant to human rights of shipbreaking labour. 31 conventions of the ILO ratified by thegovernment hardly concern their rights. Public policy in this behalf is still left out of equa-tion. Remaining at the outer margin of labour welfare programme they are not eventreated as the sub-unit of the community of workers.Labour conditions in such activity area are oversighted and do not receive adequate atten-tion as an intriguing issue. Intrinsic values of labour in this occupation are out of realizationof the policy communities despite the fact that hard and arduous labour of the workersgenerates a huge amount of revenue income every year. Draft reports of Bangladesh shipbreaking information centre, YPSA, revealed that shipbreaking was a potential source ofrevenue earning of the government drawn upon income, local revenue, sea shore tax andforeign exchange.Labour intensive technology is the keynote of shipbreaking function. Employment of labourincreases every year with a significant increase in the number of ships to be scrapped.According to the estimate of the draft report published by YPSA in November 2000 thissector has an average of 800 men work force.

Chapter

The problems associated with environmental and labour conditions have increased in numberand complexity. It is a threat to environment. Pollution generated by dismantling of shipsimpairs ecological settings. The beach is exclusively mud covered by cut-offs from theships, pipe segments, electric cables, tanks, glass, panes, oil drums and garbage storedeverywhere around the place. More, highly obnoxious gases formed from dismantlingprocess cause environmental degradation. The community of fishermen has been at agreat deal of problems having faced a series of antecedents. Sea fish resources in thecoastline have been reducing rapidly due to various ̀ toxic wastes’ of shipbreaking industry.Besides, several manifestations of air pollution including hazardous gaseous elements tellupon worker’s health.The environment around Sitakund thana (the nucleus of development activities of the localcommunity) should no longer be vitiated by shipdismantling operation round the year. Thearea covered by ship breaking yards need expansion but not at the heavy cost of reloca-tion. Problems connected with environmental and labour conditions should not be left com-plicated by appallingly increasing number of vessels to be cut into pieces. We may proposesocial development schemes for the workers with the provision of proper work and familyenvironment to make them feel a sense of life. They should be brought into a program-foldof wider labour policies, laws and ordinances. There needs to be adequate provision ofsecurity, welfare and amenities. There is a need for assistance to workers in extremelydifficult circumstances. Social insurance measures against accident and hazard should beundertaken. Wage should be increased to a standard rate. Shipbreaking Labour Day shouldbe announced as a part of policy advocacy. Formal declaration of this activity as an industrysubject to governance by Ministry of Industry may well be proposed for consideration.

(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque)Professor

Department of Public AdministrationUniversity of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Chapter

“ No one cares the tears of us, no onefeels the pain of our hard work, no onehears the crying inside our heart.... wethe people working here with hope andcourage to see the sunshine of new dayswhich may bring messages to live ashuman being ”

Chapter

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION 151.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 161.3 KEY CONCEPT 181.4 OBJECTIVES 191.5 METHODOLOGY 19

1.5.1 Survey 191.5.2 Method of data collection 201.5.3 Method of data analysis 20

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 20

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 THE SETTING OF THE STUDY AREA 22

2.1 STUDY LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS 222.2 THE AREA IN HISTORICAL SETTING 22

PAGE NO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface IVForeward VTable of Contents VIIIList of Tables XIList of Figures XIList of Photographs XIIList of Appendices XIIList of Abbreviations and Symbols XIII

VI I I

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CHAPTER THREE

3.0 LABOUR LAWS AND ITS RELEVANCE TO SHIPBREAKING LABOUR 24

3.1 CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION 24

3.1.1 Universal declaration of human rights 24

3.2 ILO DECLARATION 25

3.2.1 Relevant ILO conventions and recommendations 253.2.2 Selected ILO codes of practice with provisions which are

relevant and applicable to ship breaking activities 27

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE : FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 29

4.1 LABOUR IN YARD 29

4.1.1 Age of labour 294.1.2 Marital status of labour 294.1.3 Child & adult 294.1.4 Districts of labour 304.1.5 Educational qualification of labour 304.1.6 Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour 314.1.7 Medical facility of labour 314.1.8 Activities of labour in leisure 324.1.9 Sexual life partner of labour 32

4.2 LABOUR OUTSIDE THE YARD 33

4.2.1 Age of labour 334.2.2 Marital status of labour 334.2.3 Child & adult 334.2.4 Districts of labour 344.2.5 Educational qualification of labour 344.2.6 Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour 354.2.7 Medical facility of labour 354.2.8 Activities of labour in leisure 364.2.9 Sexual life partner of labour 36

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CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 CONDITION OF WORK: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 38

5.1 LABOUR IN YARD 38

5.1.1 Contract paper of job 385.1.2 Working hour and salary of labour 385.1.3 Different facilities of labour in yard 405.1.4 Break in work 405.1.5 Vacation in job 405.1.6 Facilities of labour in accident 415.1.7 Satisfaction of labour in job 425.1.8 Problems of labour 42

5.2 LABOUR OUTSIDE THE YARD 44

5.2.1 Contract paper of job 445.2.2 Working hour and salary of labour 445.2.3 Different facilities of labour outside the yard 475.2.4 Break in work 475.2.5 Vacation in job 475.2.6 Facilities of labour in accident 485.2.7 Satisfaction of labour in job 485.2.8 Problems of labour 49

CHAPTER SIX

6.0 RECOMMENDATION 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY 57

APPENDICES 59

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Table 1 : Working hour and salary of Cutter group 38Table 2 : Working hour and salary of Plate group 38Table 3 : Working hour and salary of Wire group 39Table 4 : Working hour and salary of Hammer group 39Table 5 : Working hour and salary of Foreman 39Table 6 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Rerolling mill 44Table 7 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Furniture shop 44Table 8 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Local Iron shop 44Table 9 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Oil shop 45Table 10 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Doors shop 45Table 11 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Basin/Kitchen items shop 45Table 12 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Cables shop 45Table 13 : Working hour and salary of Female worker 46Table 14 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Paints shop 46Table 15 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Tea stall 46

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 : Age group of labour (%) in the yard 29Figure 2 : Major ten districts of labour (%) in the yard 30Figure 3 : Educational qualification of labour (%) in the yard 30Figure 4 : Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour (%) in the yard 31Figure 5 : Medical facilities of labour (%) in the yard 31Figure 6 : Activities of labour (%) of the yard in leisure 32Figure 7 : Sexual life partner of labour (%) in the yard 32Figure 8 : Age group of labour (%) outside the yard 33Figure 9 : Districts of labour (%) outside the yard 34Figure 10 : Educational qualification of labour (%) outside the yard 34Figure 11 : Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour (%) outside the yard 35Figure 12 : Medical facilities of labour (%) outside the yard 35Figure 13 : Activities of labour (%) outside the yard in leisure 36Figure 14 : Sexual life partner of labour (%) outside the yard 36Figure 15 : Different facilities of labour (%) in the yard 40Figure 16 : Different types of facilities of labour (%) in accident (yard) 41Figure 17 : Satisfaction of labour (%) of yard in their job 42Figure 18 : Major ten problems of labour (without foreman) in the yard 42Figure 19 : Different facilities of labour (%) outside the yard 47Figure 20 : Different types of facilities of labour (%) in accident (outside the yard) 48Figure 21 : Satisfaction of labour (%) outside the yard in their job 48

LIST OF TABLES

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LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Photograph 1 : A typical view of shipbreaking yard 70Photograph 2 : A ship is waiting to die 70Photograph 3 : A labour of cutter group is cuttting iron plate 71Photograph 4 : Common scenario of plate/loading group in yard 71Photograph 5 : Labour of wire group are pulling wire on shoulders 72Photograph 6 : Hitting on screw or iron is the criteria of hammer group 72Photograph 7 : Survey team members of YPSA, busy with interview of labour 73Photograph 8 : A intimate moment during the interview of labour 73Photograph 9 : A view of furniture shop based on shipbreaking industry 74Photograph 10 : Some tanks from ship outside the yard 74

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1.1 CRITERIA OF STAFFS IN SHIPBREAKING INDUSTRIES 60

1.1.1 Staffs in yard 60

1.1.1.1 Age of the staff 601.1.1.2 Marital status of the staff 601.1.1.3 Sex of the staff 611.1.1.4 District of the staff 611.1.1.5 Educational qualification of the staff 611.1.1.6 Working hour and salary of the staff 621.1.1.7 Problems of the staff 631.1.1.8 Recommendation of the staff to solve the problems 64

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1.1.2 Staffs outside the yard 65

1.1.2.1 Age of the staff 651.1.2.2 Marital status of the staff 651.1.2.3 Sex of the staff 661.1.2.4 District of the staff 661.1.2.5 Educational qualification of the staff 661.1.2.6 Working hour and salary of the staff 671.1.2.7 Problems of the staff 681.1.2.8 Recommendation of the staff to solve the problems 69

APPENDIX 1.2 PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BASE LINE STUDY 70

APPENDIX 1.3 QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE BASE LINE STUDY 75

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS & SYMBOLS

YPSA= Young Power in Social Action

TV = Television

VCR = Video Cassette Recorder

hr = hour

VAT = Value Added Tax

ILO = International Labour Organisation

OSH = Occupational Safety and Health

% = Percentage

& = And

/ = Per

< = Less than

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CHAPTER ONE

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh is a small and densely populated country with an area of about 1, 47,370square kilometers. It has a long coastal belt of about 710 km which is enriched with naturalresources specially fish and other aquatic species of different varieties and has been thefocal point of different economic activities. Most of these seashore areas are situated inChittagong. Sitakund is a seashore area situated a few kilometers north of Chittagongwhere most of the shipsbreaking yards are concentrated. Shipbreaking industry has notbeen developed in a day. It has been developed gradually in Bangladesh passing throughvarious stages of its development at an international level. Though the shipbreaking inBangladesh started in sixties, commercially it started in late seventies. The only shipbreak-ing industry of the country has been developed in Sitakund areas, Chittagong.There areabout 20 forward and backward linkage industries based on this shipbreaking. Now, thereare about 20 shipbreaking yards in Sitakund where thousand and hundreds of labour areworking. The workers are all engaged in dangerous physical labour but they don’t havesafety equipments like helmets, goggles, gloves, boots and work suits, medical facilities andmoreover financial security. Over the last twenty years more than 400 workers have beenkilled and 6000 seriously injured according to the Bangladeshi media. The explosion of theIranian tanker TT Dena on 31 may 2000 alone is said to have caused 50 deaths. To this tollmust be added thousands of cases of irreversible disease which have occurred and willoccur in future due to the toxic materials that are handled and inhaled without minimumprecautions or protective cares. It can be said that the human rights are seriously violatedin this significant and potential industry in our country. Shipbreaking is a potential industryfor Bangladesh. At present, the position of Bangladesh is third in the world for shipbreak-ing. The largest ships of the world are cut in the shipyard of Bangladesh. This industry paysabout 700 crore taka each year to the government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh needs eightmillion tons of building materials per year, in which most needed material is iron and shipbreaking industry is supplying 90% iron materials to the country. There is no distinct andwell-balanced policy for shipbreaking industries. Actually, still now it is not declared asindustry by the government. Due to unconsciousness and unpatronization of government,the industry is facing several internal and external problems. Above all, to solve all theseproblems a distinct and well-balanced policy is necessary for shipbreaking industries. Thatis why a baseline study was conducted to know the real situation of labour, staffs andbusinessmen of shipbreaking industry.

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1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Due to the lack of available literature on the problematic under consideration, we are notable to conduct a comprehensive literature review. A few, publications though much lessthan enough may be helpful in this respect.

In 1999 Mr. Ataur Rahman and A Z M Tabarukullah wrote a report entitled ‘ShipBreaking Industry of Bangladesh’. In this report they mentioned that there was no arrange-ment for the safety of labour. No lifting process was available here in shipbreaking yards toload and move the iron pieces. The whole risky works were done by the unskilled labour ofthe industry. Besides, there was no system to provide anything for eye protection, uniform,glove and boots. It was also mentioned in the report that without making the ship gas free,the ships were beached to be scraped. As a result it becomes a great cause for the sea-pollution and a threat to the local environment.

A report named `Stuck in mud: On Ship breaking, Labour Conditions andEnvironment in Chittagong, Bangladesh’ is published in 2000. In this report Morten Ronningrevealed that, ninety percent internal demand of iron-steel was being supplied by theshipbreaking industry. He presented the horrible condition wage rate, working security,accommodation and all other things related with the environment.

About 25,000 workers are engaged in the shipbreaking industry, majority of whichare from poverty affected northern part of the country. Usually the workers are not givenappointment letter; moreover there is no formal contract between the employee and theemployer. The workers have been working in the scrap yard years after years; they havenot been allowed to form Trade Union to bargain on their due rights. The workers arecategorized according to their efficiency, wages are different accordingly. The workers areclassified as general worker, sardar (who supervise the work of about 15-20 generalworker) and Foreman (who supervise the work of 3-4 sardar of 50-60 workers). Thecontractors usually signed agreement with the ship owner (importer) for a particular sectionof the ship and deploy the workers over there. In practice there is no relationship betweenthe workers and the ship owners. It was revealed in the study that majority of the workerswere of the age group of 17-37 years. In addition, there were some child labour involvedin light works like washing, cleaning and repeat collections. The workers are deprived ofproper compensation for accidents due to lack of valid contract. The safety measures takenfor the workers during work are very old in some cases. In order to maximize profit, theships are scrapped in a way having high risk of accident. As the workers are poor theywork silently without any protest. Accidents have been a common phenomenon in theshipbreaking industry since its inception. (Babul, A.R. 2000)

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Sanfrancisco based Buddhist Peace Foundation, has recently (01/09/2000) pub-lished a report titled ̀ Ship breaking’. Mr. Alan senauke came to know for the first time theworkers of shipbreaking yard of Bangladesh from an art exhibition of a Brazilian photogra-pher Mr. Sebasteoy salgoder held in Honlolo Academy of Arts. In the exhibition ship break-ing workers of Bangladesh were presented there. Then he visited Chittagong shipbreakingyard to have an idea on working environment and occupational safety measures that havebeen prevailing in the scrap yard which he highlighted in his report .He also discussedother relevant issues like, gradual relocation of shipbreaking industry from Europe to Asiaand its underlying reasons, environment degradation caused by the industry and the role ofthe developed world in this regard. It has been appeared in his report that most of theshipbreaking workers are from the poverty stricken northern region of Bangladesh whereopportunity of employment is less. Initial wage of these is TK 60.00 for a day of eightworking hours having a scope of earning more as overtime allowance. However, theskilled labour earn more. Apparently the poor labour are found to be happy with theirexisting wages. But they are not aware of the detrimental impacts of the hazardous elementsthey have been dealing with .The report through explained the various detrimental impactsof this industry, there were no highlights on workers death and inquiry caused by thefrequent accidents/explosion in the scrap yard.

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Chapter1.3 KEY CONCEPT USEDYard / Field : Yard/ Field is the place where ships are cut into different pieces. Actually theyards/fields are situated at the seashore areas.Cutter group : Cutter group is one kind of labour group who cut different parts of ship byoxyacetylene flame. The labour that help the cutter are called cutter helper.Plate/Loading group : The kind of workers who carry or load the big iron pieces on theirshoulder to the truck is called Plate/Loading group.Wire group : The labour that pull the wire are called Wire group.Hammer group : The labour that hit or beat the joint of iron and loosen the nails are calledHammer group.Foreman : The labour’s leader who supplies labour to work in the yard and maintain therelationship between the labour and contractors is called Foreman.Contractor : The people, who make contract with the owner to cut the ship, recruit thelabour and supervise all the works of cutting are called Contractor.Supervisor/Clerk : They are the people assigned by the company, engaged in the office ofthe yard, supervised the official works and documents.Security guard : The people who engaged for the safety of the yard are called Securityguard.Re-rolling mill or re-rolling steel mill group : They are the labour from the steel mills basedon the iron of ship.Furniture group : The labour who work in the furniture shops are called Furniture group.These shops are mainly based on the furniture from the ship.Local iron/scrap group : The labour who work in the scrap iron shop are called Local irongroup.Oil group : There are some shops of oil that are based on the oil of ship. The labour, workin the oil shop are called Oil group.Doors group : The labour from the door shops are called Doors group. These shops arebased on the doors collected from the ships.Basin/Kitchen group : There are some shops of basin and kitchen items which are collectedfrom the ships. The labour, engaged in those shops are called Basin / kitchen group.Cables group : Some cable shops are established on the basis of cables collected from theships. The labour working in those shops are called Cables group.Female worker group : There are some female persons who work in the mess of labourare called female worker. They mainly help in cooking.Paints group : There are some shops of paints in the shipbreaking yard area, which arebased on the paint of the ships. The labour who work in the paint shops are called Paintgroup.Tea stall group : There are many tea stalls in the area of yard where mainly the labour taketea and pass their leisure time. The labour work in the tea stall are called Tea stall group.Manager/ Caretaker : There are some peoples who work in the different ship breakingitems shop, supervise the work of labour and keep the documents of the shops are calledManager/Caretaker.Businessman : This group is engaged in different shipbreaking item business.1 8

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1.4 OBJECTIVESThe study contains the following objectives :

1. To know the real situation of the labour, staffs and businessmen including theirpersonal information, living condition, job facilities, problems and suggestions there to,2. To build rapport with labour, staffs and businessmen of the shipbreaking industries.3. To keep or make a document on the present condition of those people.4. To consider baseline data in order to track down changes in condition of labourthrough mid term and final evaluation.5. To review activities and strategies of the project in the light of baseline survey findings.

1.5 METHODOLOGY1.5.1 SurveyA survey was conducted by the YPSA team on five hundred peoples including

labour, staffs and businessmen from September-November 2003. The survey was doneby random sampling. Within five hundred peoples, there are 265 labour (in yard), 118labour (outside the yard), 18 staffs (in yard), 12 staffs (outside the yard) and 87 businessmen.Different labour groups with their numbers (in yard) covered in the survey are Cuttergroup-105, Plate group-109, Wire group-34, Hammer group-10 and Foreman-7. Theforeman is separated from the major force of labour due to various reasons. They are theleaders of labour group; supply labour to the yard from different places and also supervisesdifferent problems of labour. Some of them work in the yard and some don’t. Outside theyard, the different groups are Re-rolling mill-27, Furniture-27, Local Iron Shop-17, Oilgroup-9, Doors shop-9, Basin / Kitchen items shop-7, Cables shop-6, Female Worker-6,Paints-5 and Teastall-5. The categories of the staff with their numbers in the yard areContractor-6, Clerk/ Supervisor-6 and Security Guard-6. Staffs outside the yard with theirnumbers are Manager/ Caretaker-12, and Businessman-87.

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1.5.2 Method of data collectionAt first, the team identified the location of different yards. Observation on the

activities of labour was done for some days to know the behaviour, leisure time and dailylife style. A questionnaire was made including both close and open ended questions toknow the overall conditions of the labour, staffs and businessmen. ‘One to one interview’was done to get the answer of the questions. Most of the interviews were taken outside theyards at the break time and at leisure. Some interviews were also taken at night as theybecome relax at that time.

1.5.3 Method of data analysisSome reports on shipbreaking industries aided us though those were insufficient.

The preparation of the report and analysis of data was done by the office managementsystem (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Power point) in computer.

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

At the initial stage, it was really difficult to get access in the yard and also to talk with thelabour. Difficulty in obtaining the access of female staffs in some yards was no less handicap.The officials of some yards did not behave well and cooperate properly. Actually nobodywanted to give any information and the labour were afraid of talking because they thoughtwhether they were going to lose their jobs by telling the truth. The labour were not availableall the time because of their work and sometimes it was really very difficult to talk with thelabour in the break time as they were very tired. The shortage of manpower including timeconstraint was also felt during the study period and the communication to the field was alsovery time consuming. Lack of electricity was also a major constraint during the preparationand data analysis of the report.

The research or study reports published on shipbreaking industries are mainly ondetrimental impacts of such risky activities and most of the reports are incomplete; nocomplete report on the condition of labour in the yard, only very few or partial study is donewhich does not focus the real situation. Most of the previous studies are based on theenvironmental effect due to shipbreaking industries but rights of labour and their humani-tarian life did not get priority in those report. Such kinds of study are not helpful for anyfuture research on human rights.

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CHAPTER TWO

Chapter

2.0 THE SETTING OF THE STUDY AREA2.1 STUDY LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS

In Bangladesh the shipbreaking yards are mainly located along 7 km long coastline ofSelimpur, Bhatiary, Kumira and Bar Aoulia Unions of Sitakund Upazilla. This area lies alongthe Dhaka-Chittagong high ways, which is 10km away from Chittagong Metropolitan City.According to official enumeration of population 1991, the population of Sitakund Thanawas 274903.The communication of the study area is well developed. The main way ofcommunication of this area is Dhaka- Chittagong highway. The roads towards the yard aremade of bricks, mud and iron chips but the chips are very dangerous. The vehicles plyingin the study area are bus, truck, maxi, tempo, taxi and rickshaw. Most of the living struc-tures in the research area are generally made of bamboo, sun grass and mud. There arealso some semi-buildings with tin-shed. Normally the poor villagers and workers of differ-ent industries live in this kind of place. Besides, there are also some multi-storied buildings,just beside the road. The businessmen and industry staffs live in the buildings.

2.2 THE AREA IN HISTORICAL SETTINGSIn early sixties, a Greek ship “MD Alpine”, being affected by the sea storm, was

confined in Foujdarhat seashore of Sitakund Upazilla. The ship remained there for a longtime. In 1964 Chittagong Steal House bought the vessel and scrapped it. During the libera-tion war in 1971, a Pakistani ship “Al Abbas” was damaged by bomb burst. Later on thiswas salvaged by a Soviet Salvation Team from Chittagong port; and brought to the Foujderhatseashore. In 1974 the Kharnafully Metal Works Ltd. bought this vessel as scrap, which isconsidered as introduction of shipbreaking in Bangladesh.

The shipbreaking industry has been developed in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh be-cause of availability of cheap labour, moderate enforcement of laws, low level of environ-mental awareness, huge demand of iron and steal etc. The industry expanded largely inIndia at a time when it was squeezing in China in the nineties. But after the explosion in anoil tanker at Alan, Gujarat in 1997 which took several lives, Government of India has takena hard-line on dismantling of big oil tankers and imposed ban on shipbreaking withouttaking gas free certificate. Following the Government control, the Indian industrialists lostinterests in shipbreaking business. Although highest numbers of ships have been disman-tling in India as of today, all the ships are small in size.While Indian businessmen stopped importing big ships, some Bangladeshi industrialists startedto import them being allured by a huge amount of profit in this business. Within a shortperiod Bangladeshi businessmen started to dominate the international market of big scrapships and established their monopoly in the business. Statistics shows that about 52% of bigscrap ships of the world are scrapped in Bangladesh (DNV 1999).

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CHAPTER THREE

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Chapter

3.0 LABOUR LAWS AND ITS RELEVANCE TO SHIPBREAKING LABOUR3.1 CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION

3.1.1 Universal declaration of human rights3.1.1.1 Article 20(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

The above articles support the following -Constitution of Bangladesh : Article 37Every citizen shall have the right to assemble and to participate in public meetings andprocessions peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed bylaw in the interests of public order or public health.

Constitution of Bangladesh : Article 38Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonablerestrictions imposed by law in the interests of morality or public order :

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights : Article 21European Convention of Human Rights: Article 11

3.1.1.2. Article 23(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just andfavourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equalwork.(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensur-ing for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supple-mented, if necessary by other means of social protection.(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of hisinterest.

The above articles support the following -Constitution of Bangladesh : Article 15It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to attain, through planned economicgrowth, a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the materialand cultural standard of living of the people, with a view to securing to its citizens-

(a) the provision of the basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter,education and medical care;(b) the right to work, that is the right to guaranteed employment at a reasonablewage having regard to the quantity and quality of work ;(c) the right to reasonable rest, recreation and leisure ; and(d) the right to social security, that is to say to public assistance in cases of unde-served want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered bywidows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases.

Bangladesh Industrial Relation Law, 1969: Article 3International Convention of the Civics and Political Rights: Article 22European Convention of Human Rights : Article 11

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3.1.1.3 Article 24Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of work-

ing hours and periodic holidays with pay.The above article support the following -Constitution of Bangladesh: Article: 15 (mentioned above)

3.1.1.4 OthersOthers than those there are some other article about labour –

Constitution of Bangladesh : Article 14 (Emancipation of peasants and workers)It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to emancipate the toiling masses- thepeasants and workers- and backward sections of the people from all forms of exploitation.Constitution of Bangladesh : Article 34 (Prohibition of Forced Labour)

(1) All forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provi-sion shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.(2) Nothing in this article shall apply to compulsory labour-

(a) by persons undergoing lawful punishment for a criminal offence; or(b) required by any law for public purposes.

3.2 ILO DECLARATIONThe ILO has adopted a large number of international Conventions and accompanyingRecommendations directly concerned with OSH issues, as well as elaborated many codesof practice and technical publications applicable to shipbreaking. They represent a body ofdefinitions, principles, obligations, duties and rights, as well as technical guidance reflect-ing the consensual views of the ILO’s tripartite constituents from its 175 member States (asof June 2002) on most aspects of occupational safety and health.

3.2.1 Relevant ILO Conventions and Recommendations3.2.1.1 Fundamental ILO Conventions and accompanying Recommendations

Eight ILO Conventions have been identified by the ILO’s Governing Body as being funda-mental to the rights of human beings at work, irrespective of levels of development ofindividual member States. These rights are a precondition for all the others in that theyprovide for the necessary implements to strive freely for the improvement of individual andcollective conditions of work.

Freedom of association· Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention,1948 (No. 87)· Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)

The abolition of forced labour· Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)· Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)

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Equality Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

and Recommendation No. 111 Equal Remuneration Convention,1951(No.100) and Recommendation

(No. 90)

The elimination of child labour Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and Recommendation (No. 146) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) and

Recommendation (No. 190)

3.2.1. 2 Conventions and Recommendations on occupational safety andhealth and working conditions

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No.115) and Recommendation, 1960(No. 114)

Reduction of Hours of Work Recommendations, 1962 (No. 116) Guarding of Machinery Convention, 1963 (No.119) and Recommendation,

1963 (No.118) Employment Injury Benefit Convention, 1964 (No.121) and

Recommendation, 1964 (No.121) Workers Representatives Convention, 1971 (No.135) Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127) and Recommendation, 1967

(No.128) Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) and Recommendation, 1971 (No.144)Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) and Recommendation, 1974

(No.147) Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention, 1977

(No. 148) and Recommendation, 1977 (No. 156) Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work) Convention, 1979 (No.152) and

Recommendation 1979 (No. 160) Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No.155) and

Recommendation, 1981 (No.164) Protocol of 2002 (recording and notification of occupational accidents and

diseases) to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2002 Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No.161) and

Recommendation, 1985(No.171) Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No.162) and Recommendation, 1986 (No.172) Chemicals Convention,1990 (No.170) and Recommendation,1990 (No.177) Night Work Convention, 1990 (No.171) and Recommendation 1990 (No.178) Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.183) and Recommendation, 2002

(No. 191) List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation, 2002 (No.194)

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3.2.2 Selected ILO Codes of practice with provisions which are relevantand applicable to shipbreaking activities

Safety and health in shipbuilding and ship repairing, 1974 Protection of workers against noise and vibration in the working

environment, 1977 Occupational safety and health in the iron and steel industry, 1983 Safety in the use of asbestos, 1984 Safety, health and working conditions in the transfer of technology to

developing countries, 1988 Safety in the use of chemicals at work, 1993 Accident prevention on board ship at sea and in port (2nd edition), 1996 Management of alcohol and drug-related issues in the workplace, 1996 Recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, 1996 Protection of workers personal data, 1997 Ambient factors in the workplace, 2001 Safety in the use of synthetic vitreous fibre insulation wools (glass wool, rock

wool, slag wool ), 2001 HIV/AIDS and the world of work, 2001 Safety and health in the non-ferrous metals industries, 2003

Chapter

CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter

4.0 SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 LABOUR IN YARD

4.1.1 Age of labour

Figure 1: Age group of labour (%) in the yard.

The figure shows that majority of the labour (40.75%) are under age group 18-22 yearand only 1.13% labour are under age group 46-50 year. The most important finding isthat 10.94% labour are child. It is clear that young labour force is dominant in this sectorwhich also indicates that less experienced and untrained labour force are forced to acceptsuch jobs mainly due to poverty. Another thing is that the labour above 45 years are veryless in this sector because more physical strength is necessary to work here.

4.1.2 Marital status of labour

Married-31.70%, Unmarried- 68.30%

4.1.3 Child & adult

Child-10.94%, Adult Male-89.06%

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4.1.4 Districts of labourLabour in yard are from 22 different districts. There is a figure that represents the major10 districts.

Figure 2 : Major ten districts of labour (%) in the yard.

The above figure shows that 24.15% labour are from Bogra. But it is clear from the figurethat most of the labour are coming from north Bengal. Poverty, lack of employment andeducation forces them to work in this sector. The working labour bring their relatives fre-quently.

4.1.5 Educational qualification of labour

Figure 3 : Educational qualification of Labour (%) in the yard.

It is observed from the figure that a huge number of labour (46.42%) are illiterate and43.02% labour are educated up to primary education. The huge uneducated labour forcehas less scope for better professional jobs within and outside the sector. Less accessibility todifferent opportunities including information for exercising rights, as they are less expo-sure to education and information etc.

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4.1.6 Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour

Figure 4 : Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of Labour (%) in the yard.

The figure shows that in case of food 61.89% labour said the food is not good, 54.72%labour said that the sanitation facilities are very bad and 62.26% labour said the habitatfacilities are not good. There was no specific range of the criteria very good, good, notgood and very bad from questionnaire point of view. It was done by the opinion of alabour’s own point of view. The yard contractor provides the sanitation and residencefacilities but the food arrangement is absolutely the labour’s responsibility.

4.1.7 Medical facility of labour

Figure 5 :

It is clear from the figure that 90.19% labour don’t get any medical facilities from the yard,5.66% labour said they get all medical facilities and 4.15 % labour get medical facilitiesbut in a nominal way like first aid treatment, small amount of money etc. Another point isthat this figure only shows general medical treatment facilities except the accidents in yard.

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Figure 6 : Activities of Labour (%) of the yard in leisure.

The above figure shows that 43.77% labour watch T.V or VCR in leisure, some labour messhas their own T.V and some times they hire VCR to watch movie or go to another placeswhere they watch T.V or VCR. Cinema hall is another recreational facility for the labour inleisure, 22.64% labour said they go for cinema on their own arrangement. Visiting isanother option to pass the time of leisure and 32.83% labour said they visit the outer placeof the yard in their leisure. They actually like to visit the near places of their residence.Some labour pass their leisure by singing together and 18.49% labour told it. A smallpercentage of labour that means 4.91% of labour like to play in leisure and 18.87%labour has others option to pass their leisure.As the labour are working very hard they needrecreation but no recreational facilities are provided by the yard authority. The labourarrange the recreational facilities by their own effort.

4.1.9 Sexual life partner of labour

Figure 7 : Sexual life partner of Labour (%) in the yard.

The above figure shows that 59.25% labour have no sexual life partner. This is becausemost of them are unmarried and sometimes they feel shy to discuss this matter. In addition,30.94% labour said wife is their sexual life partner, earlier we came to know that 31.70%labour are married and 7.55% labour depends on sex worker.

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4.2 LABOUR OUTSIDE THE YARD

There are many forward and backward linkage industries, which depend on shipbreaking.Many labour engage in these industries bearing earlier bitter experiences of hard workingin shipbreaking industries. The labour inside and outside the yard stay together in someplaces. The outside labour realize the problems of labour in the yard, they feel the painhonestly as because they are also deprived from their rights in many aspect. But outsidelabour are in better position than the inside labour of the yard.

4.2.1 Age of labour

Figure 8 : Age group of Labour (%) outside the yard.

From the figure it is observed that 10.17% labour are child, 27.12% labour are under age18-22 year, 27.97% labour are under the age 22-26 year and 22.03% labour are underage 26-30 year. These are the major age groups of the labour outside the yard.

4.2.2 Marital status of labour

Married-39.83%, Unmarried-59.32%, Divorced-0.85%

4.2.3 Child & adult

Child-9.32%, Adult Male-82.20%, Adult Female-8.47%

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4.2.4 Districts of labourLabour outside the yard are from 24 different districts. There is a figure that represents themajor 10 districts of Labour.

Figure 9 : Districts of Labour (%) outside the yard.

Here, the figure shows that 33.05% labour are from Chittagong; this is because the locallabour are not interested to the hard work of the yard. Some of them think, working insidethe yard is an inferior job and they are also not too needy to engage in hard working job ofthe yard. The labour from Noakhali and Chandpur are 15.25% and 11.02% respectively.Most of the labour from Noakhali and Chandpur work in furniture shops. Another thing isthat outside the yard the labour from the north Bengal are not dominated.

4.2.5 Educational qualification of labour

Figure 10 : Educational qualification of Labour (%) outside the yard.

The above figure shows that 35.59% labour are illiterate, 42.37% labour have only pri-mary education and 6.78% labour are S.S.C passed which is the most important finding.The educational qualification of the labour outside the yard is better than the labour insidethe yard.

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4.2.6 Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of labour

Figure 11 : Condition of food, sanitation and habitat of Labour (%) outside the yard.

The figure shows that 44.92% labour said standard of food is good, 38.98% labour’s pointof view the food is not good and 11.02% labour said food is very good. Most of the labourarrange their food in their own effort. In case of sanitation, 54.24% labour said the condi-tion of sanitation is not good, 27.97% labour told that the condition of sanitation is very badand 17.80% labour said good / well. But 70.34% labour said the habitat is not good.

4.2.7 Medical facilities of labour

Figure 12 : Medical facilities of Labour (%) outside the yard.

It is observed from the figure that 86.44% labour said they get no medical facilities fromthe owner, 5.93% labour said they get all sorts of medical facilities,5.93% labour said theyget medical facilities but in a nominal way or first aid treatment and 1.69% labour toldsome times they get medical facilities and some times not.

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4.2.8 Activities of labour in leisure

Figure 13 : Activities of Labour (%) outside the yard in leisure.

From the figure, it is observed that 44.07% labour watch T.V or VCR and same percentageof labour pass the leisure in visiting outside. In leisure, 19.49% labour like to go to CinemaHall. The labour arrange these facilities by their own interest and effort.

4.2.9 Sexual life partner of labour

Figure 14 : Sexual life partner of Labour (%) outside the yard.

The above figure shows that 56.78 % labour have no sexual life partner. This is becausemost of them are unmarried and sometimes they feel shy to discuss this matter. In addition,32.20% labour said wife is their sexual life partner and most of them are married.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Chapter

5.0 CONDITION OF WORK: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 LABOUR IN YARD

5.1.1 Contract paper of jobIn yards 100% labour said -there is no contract paper of their job. The labour force com-plained that due to lack of evidence in job-they are deprived from their rights and alsofacing problems in the permanency of job. They well understand the importance of thecontract paper and also want to change this situation but they can’t dare it as they are afraidof loosing the job.

5.1.2 Working hour and salary of labourCUTTER GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) /day

8 8.57 85.569 3.81 98.7510 24.76 115.96*11 20.00 109.31*12 31.43 121.6113 9.52 158.0014 0.95 168.0016 0.95 200.00

Table 1: Working hour and salary of cutter group.

PLATE GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) /day

6 1.83 150.00*8 6.42 82.14*9 6.42 75.71*10 27.52 93.00*11 19.27 91.81*12 24.77 101.7813 13.76 104.47

Table 2 : Working hour and salary of plate group.

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WIRE GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) /day

8 16.67 72.50*9 13.89 86.00*10 19.44 87.14*11 19.44 85.93*12 8.33 90.0013 8.33 104.0015 8.33 138.33

Table 3 : Working hour and salary of wire group.

HAMMER GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) /day

8 10.00 150.00*10 20.00 150.00*11 30.00 150.00*12 40.00 108.00*

Table 4 : Working hour and salary of hammer group.

FOREMAN

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average Salary (taka) / month

10 14.29 4800.00*11 28.57 3300.00*12 28.57 3975.0013 14.29 4050.0014 14.29 5400.00

Table 5 : Working hour and Salary of Foreman.

* The wage/salary of labour/foreman varies not only depending on working hours but alsodepends on skill ness of labour that`s why the wage/salary in the above tables are like that.

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5.1.3 Different facilities of labour in yard

Figure 15 : Different facilities of Labour (%) in the yard.

Here, Different facilities are-No, Bonus, Overtime, M.A= Medical Allowance, M.A (nominal) = Medical Allowance(nominal), H.A= Housing Allowance, Increment

From the figure, it is observed that 65.28% labour get no facilities from the yard exceptwages. Rest of others get some facilities where 5.28% labour get bonus, 15.09% getovertime facilities, 9.81% labour get medical allowance, 2.64% labour get medical allow-ance but at a nominal rate which is not sufficient, 15.09% labour get housing allowanceand only 0.38% labour get increment from the yard.

5.1.4 Break in workLabour (100%) in yards enjoy one and half an hour break- one hour for lunch and fifteenminutes each for tea break in the morning and afternoon. As it is very hard work, the breakthey are getting is not enough. The labour are not paid for the break time. For this reason,they actually don’t enjoy the break and always feel tense whether they are becoming late inwork.

5.1.5 Vacation in jobActually, there is no formal vacation for the Labour. “Work and pay” is the motto of theyard. Actually they are not aware about their salary, benefit etc. while they accept the job.They need work for their livelihood that is why they are working. They know-they aredeprived from their rights and different facilities but nothing to do.

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5.1.6 Facilities of labour in accident

Figure 16 : Different types of facilities of Labour (%) in accident (yard).

Here, Different types of facilities of labour are-

1 = Medical treatment (it include all sorts of medical facilities)2 = Medical treatment (only medicine)3 = Medical treatment (nominal)4 = Medical treatment (only for 2/3 days)5 = Medical treatment (give some money)6 = Leave with salary7 = Leave without salary8 = Leave without salary (nominal)9 = Compensation10 = Compensation (nominal)11 = others12 = Wage in the first few days13 = Give money sometimes14 = No facility

From the figure, it is found that 27.92% labour get medical treatment which includes allsorts of medical facilities, 11.32% labour get medical treatment (nominal) that meansprimary treatment or first aid treatment, 43.77% labour get medical treatment (only for 2/3 days) means the labour get medical facilities only for 2/3 days, 21.51% labour get leavewithout salary in case of accident, 4.15% labour get compensation when accident hap-pened in the yard and there are other sorts of facilities which are got by very little portionof labour.

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Chapter5.1.7 Satisfaction of labour in job

Figure 17 : Satisfaction of Labour (%) of yard in their job.

The above figure indicates that 53.58% labour are very dissatisfied (financially), 40.75%labour are dissatisfied (financially) and only 5.66% are satisfied in their job. The labour(49.43%) said they are very dissatisfied, 42.26% are dissatisfied and only 5.28% aresatisfied (other facilities) in their job. There were no specific criteria of satisfaction anddissatisfaction level from questionnaire point of view. It was done by the opinion of a labour’sown point of view.

5.1.8 Problems of labour

Figure 18 : Major ten problems of Labour (without foreman) in the yard.Here, in the figure the major ten problems of labour (without Foreman) are -1. Very risky job / threats of accident/ fear to work on the top of the ships.2. Wages are not paid accurately and timely. 3. Lack of pure drinking water.4. Hands and legs are always burned, feel pain in body and chest.5. Too much working pressure but fewer wages.6. Necessary tools and elements (like dresses, gloves, helmet, shoes & welding glass) arenot provided. 7. Lack of healthy toilet. 8. No security of life.9. Legs are often cut and injured. 10. Have to work in hot and rainy days because theundeclared rule is “no work no money”.The labour in the yard has fifty four (54) different types of problems, here only ten (10) majorproblems are presented through graph. Each labour mentions more than one problem.

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FOREMAN

The foreman is separated from the major force of labour due to various reasons. They arethe leaders of labour group; supply labour to the yard from different places and alsosupervises different problems of labour. Some of them work in the yard and some don’t.That is why the foremen are separated from the mainstream labour.

The major ten problems of Foreman and their percentage are-

1. Working pressure is high but the wage is low. - 71.43%2. Threats of accidents. -57.14%3. No arrangement for pure drinking water. -57.14%4. Force to work quickly. -42.86%5. Salary is not paid timely. -42.86%6. No hygienic toilet. -42.86%7. Contactors don’t pay the bill regularly that’s why foremen can’t pay the Labour timelyand most of the time they have to pay the Labour from their own pocket. -28.57%8. Arrangement of taking meal is not good. -28.57%9. To get a contract-a foreman have to face competition with other foremen. -14.29%10. Have to work in the rain. -14.29%

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5.2 LABOUR OUTSIDE THE YARD5.2.1 Contract paper of job

Outside the yards 100% Labour said -there is no contract paper of their job. They know theimportance of the contract paper but the owners don’t care about it.

5.2.2 Working hour and salary of labour

REROLLING MILL GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) / day6 3.70 102.00*8 55.56 88.00*9 3.70 80.00*10 3.70 100.0011 3.70 105.0012 29.63 65.63*

Table 6 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Rerolling mill.

FURNITURE GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka) / day

8 11.11 118.33*10 11.11 116.67*11 3.70 70.00*12 40.74 117.0913 25.93 152.1414 7.41 185.00

Table 7 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Furniture shop.

LOCAL IRON GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day8 23.53 123.75*9 5.88 90.00*10 17.65 100.0012 17.65 176.67*13 35.29 170.00*

Table 8 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Local Iron shop.

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OIL GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

8 11.11 60.009 11.11 90.0011 11.11 150.00*12 22.22 130.00*13 44.44 167.50

Table 9 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Oil shop.

DOORS GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

8 44.44 86.25*10 22.22 80.00*12 33.33 81.67

Table 10 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Doors shop.

BASIN/ KITCHEN ITEMS GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

8 42.86 30.0010 14.29 100.00*11 14.29 70.00*12 14.29 50.0013 14.29 70.00

Table 11: Working hour and salary of the labour of Basin/Kitchen items shop.

CABLES GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

8 33.33 30.00*10 50.00 36.67*15 16.67 30.00*

Table 12 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Cables shop.

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FEMALE WORKER

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

5 16.67 50.00*6 16.67 45.00*8 16.67 30.00*10 16.67 20.00*12 33.33 25.00*

Table 13 : Working hour and salary of Female worker.

PAINTS GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

12 60.00 43.33Not Specified 40.00 40.00

Table 14 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Paints shop.

TEA STALL GROUP

Working hr/day Percentage of Labour Average salary (taka)/ day

12 40.00 35.00*14 60.00 13.33*

Table 15 : Working hour and salary of the labour of Tea stall.

* The wage/salary of labour varies not only depending on working hours but alsodepends on skill ness of labour that`s why the wage/salary in the above tables arelike that.

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5.2.3 Different facilities of labour outside the yard

Figure 19 : Different facilities of Labour (%) outside the yard.

Here, the different facilities of labour are-No= No facilityBonusBonus (nominal)Bonus (400 taka in two Eid)Bonus (500 taka in two Eid)OvertimeM.A=Medical AllowanceM.A (nominal) = Medical Allowance (nominal)H.A=Housing AllowanceIncrement

The figure shows that 36.44% labour said they get no facility, 29.66% labour agreed theyget no bonus, 21.19% labour said they get overtime facility and 9.32% labour get medicalallowance. These are the major findings of the figure.

5.2.4 Break in work

Labour (100%) outside the yards enjoy one and half an hour break- one hour for lunch andfifteen minutes each for tea break in the morning and afternoon. Though the work outsidethe yard is less hard than the work inside the yard, the labour feel that the break is notsufficient or the owner can pay for the break time.

5.2.5 Vacation in job

Actually, there is no formal vacation for the labour. “Work and pay” is the motto of theyard. The fact for the outside labour is same as inside labour of yard in case of vacation.

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5.2.6 Facilities of labour in accident

Figure 20 : Different types of facilities of Labour (%) in accident (outside the yard).

Here, different facilities of labour in accident are-1= Medical treatment, 2= Medical treatment (nominal), 3= Medical treatment (only for2/3 days), 4= Medical treatment (give some money), 5= Leave with salary, 6= Leavewithout salary, 7= Compensation, 8= others, 9= No facility

From the above figure, it is clear that in case of accident 48.31% labour get medicalfacilities means all sorts of treatment, 41.53% labour get primary or first aid treatmentwhich is nominal, 20.34% labour get leave without salary in accident but no treatment and7.63% labour get compensation.

5.2.7 Satisfaction of labour in job

Figure 21: Satisfaction of Labour (%) outside the yard in their job.

The figure shows that 33.90 % labour are very dissatisfied (financially), 50.85% labourare dissatisfied (financially) and 13.56% are satisfied in their job. The labour (31.36%)said they are very dissatisfied, 43.22% are dissatisfied and 23.73% are satisfied (otherfacilities) in their job. There were no specific criteria of satisfaction and dissatisfaction levelfrom questionnaire point of view. It was done by the opinion of a labour’s own point of view.But the satisfaction level is better than the labour inside the yard.

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5.2.8 Problems of labour

The problems of labour outside the yard and their percentage are given below-

REROLLING MILL GROUP

1. Too much working pressure but fewer wages.-44.44%2. Contractors, supervisors, and official staffs behave badly.-40.74%3. Threats of accident, have to work with risk are common.-25.93%4. The wage is less. - 25.93%5. No bonus and overtime.-25.93%6. No arrangement of pure drinking water.-22.22%7. The job is not permanent and no contract paper.-14.81%8. Lack of pure drinking water in yards.-14.81%9. No arrangement for immediate treatment.-11.11%10. Wages are not paid regularly.-11.11%

FURNITURE GROUP

1. Wage is not enough.-62.96%2. Condition of living and food are not good.-40.74%3. Very much working pressure.-25.93%4. Bonus is not paid.-22.22%5. No system for compensation.-14.81%6. No system for medical facility.-14.81%7. Wage is not paid regularly.-11.11%8. Highly competitive market.-7.41%9. No rest or break at working period.-7.41%10. No permanency of job.-7.41%

LOCAL IRON GROUP

1. Have to buy necessary / essential things by their own money (such as glass, musk, gloves etc). - 58.82%2. No arrangement of compensation. - 58.82%3. Have to work hard but there is no proper facility.-52.94%4. No arrangement of medicare.-47.06%5. Risk of accidents.-35.29%6. Hands and legs are injured by falling iron. -35.29%7. Feel pain in chest and eyes.-23.53%8. Less salary. -23.53%9. Tough to take breath easily.-17.65%10. Can’t tell problems to the proprietors. -17.65%

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OIL GROUP

1. Working environment is not healthy-55.56%2. Very much working pressure-55.56%3. Wage is less according to the work-33.33%4. The necessary elements are supplied like gloves, shoes, glasses, thick cloths etc.-22.22%5. Feel pain in hands, legs and other parts of the body.-22.22%6. Hard to take breath freely because of the smell of oil.-22.22%7. Face problems for food.-11.11%8. No freedom at work.-11.11%9. Feel scabies on the hand.-11.11%10. Infections on the hands. -11.11%

DOORS GROUP

1. Job is not permanent. - 55.56%2. Wage is not enough according to work. 44.44%3. Have to look for job in a different place if there is no work to do.-22.22%4. Face problems if there is no ship is the yard.-11.11%5. The number of workers has increased but scope of job is limited. -11.11%6. Stay in the shop in case of sickness. -11.11%7. Labour are not treated as a human being. -11.11%8. Sometimes quarrel happens among the labour. -11.11%

BASIN/ KITCHEN ITEMS GROUP

1. Wage is not enough to maintain the living cost. -85.71%2. Too much working pressure. -42.86%3. Competition is very high. -28.57%4. Have no work if there are not enough goods in the shop. -28.57%5. Local people behave badly. -28.57%6. Can’t send money at home. - 14.29%7. Poor people get no help from the government. -14.29%8. No time for break or rest. -14.29%

CABLES GROUP

1. Wage in not enough. - 66.67%2. Have to look for job in a different place if there is no work to do. -66.67%3. Competition is going high day by day. -50.00%4. Ships don’t come in a large scale. - 50.00%5. No specific work to do. - 33.33%6. Face problems to work with women. -16.67%7. Government does not help at all. -16.67%

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Chapter

FEMALE WORKER

1. Wage is not enough. -66.67%2. The labour behave badly for any mistake. - 33.33%3. Some labour disturb very much. -33.33%4. Too much working pressure. -33.33%5. Women have to face so many problems in this kind of job. -16.67%6. Tough to maintain the living cost. - 16.67%7. Don’t pay the wage regularly. -16.67%8. Can’t do the heavy works. - 16.67%9. Give rice in stead of money. -16.67%10. No reply. -16.67%

PAINTS GROUP

1. Wage is less.-60.00%2. Working pressure is high.-40.00%3. Face problems when buy through tender. -40.00%4. If there is no ship then there is lots of problems.-20.00%5. We can’t study at school. -20.00%6. There are not so much problems because of our family business. -20.00%7. Sometimes there is problems due to tax. -20.00%

TEA STALL GROUP

1. Wage is less.-100%2. There is no scope to study.-40.00%3. No problems.-40.00%4. Have to sleep in the stall. -40.00%5. No medical facility in case of sickness. -40.00%6. No freedom here. -40.00%7. No reply. -40.00%8. Working pressure is high. -20.00%9. Wage is not sufficient to survive. -20.00%10. At the end of month –there is no money in our pocket.-20.00%

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CHAPTER SIX

Chapter

6.0 RECOMMENDATION

LABOUR’S RECOMMENDATION (WITHOUT FOREMAN)

The recommendations from workers inside the yard are given below with their percentage.Each worker told more than one recommendation. Here, the major ten recommendationsof labour (without foreman) in yard are-

1. Owners can increase the wage including medical facility, compensation and the otheradvantages of the job.-45.35%2. Government can establish free hospitals and schools.-26.36%3. Media can inform the country people about the sufferings of the labour.-25.19%4. Local people can help labour to fill up their rights.-24.03%5. Have to find out a way to solve all of the problems by uniting the labour.-20.16%6. Have to be aware about accidents and rights.-19.38%7. Local people can behave well with labour.-15.89%8. Media can disseminate the true information about the problems of labour.-13.95%9. Contractors can take steps to increase wage, give bonus and vacation.-12.79%10. Unity should be present among the labour.-11.63%

FOREMAN’S RECOMMENDATION

1. Owners can increase the overtime, bonus and increment facilities.-85.71%2. Have to be conscious about own responsibilities, rights and should have unity in all. -28.57%3. Owner can increase the wage. -28.57%4. Owner can take step to give wage or leave with wage to the sick or injured workers.-28.57%5. Government can establish hospitals so that the labour can get free medical facility. -28.57%6. Local people can help labour to fulfill their rights. -28.57%7. Media can aware the labour community to improve their condition of living. -28.57%8. Media can spread information to the country people about the problems of labour. -28.57%9. Authority should take initiatives for the arrangement of pure water and hygienic toilet.-28.57%10. All foremen can make a fix wage rate by mutual understanding.-14.29%

The recommendations from different group of outside workers are given below with theirpercentage. Each worker told more than one recommendations. Here only major tenrecommendations are enlisted for each group.

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Chapter

REROLLING MILL GROUP

1. Owner can provide residential facility with increasing the wage. - 66.67%2. Government can establish hospital and school.-44.44%3. Local people can be united with labour.-29.63%4. Owner should not accept the contractors.-14.81%5. Owner can increase the bonus facility and pay the wage regularly.-14.81%6. Owner can make the job permanent. -11.11%7. Owner can give extra money for overtime and accidents. -11.11%8. Owner should take some steps to stop misbehaviour of supervisors, official staffs. -11.11%9. Owner can arrange pure drinking water and healthy toilet for the labour. -11.11%10. Government can force the owners to take initiatives to solve those problems. -11.11%

FURNITURE GROUP

1. Owner can increase the wage and bonus facility.-44.44%2. Owner can develop the food and living condition.-29.63%3. We may request the authority to increase the wage.18.52%4. Owner can provide other facilities. 18.52%5. Media can make publicity about the quality of the furniture available in the shipbreaking industry. -14.81%6. Media can disseminate information about the problems of the labour. -14.81%7. No reply. -14.81%8. Owner can develop an intimate relationship with the labour. -11.11%9. Government should do something to develop this business. -11.11%10. Government can make a policy for businessmen, owners and labour. -11.11%

LOCAL IRON GROUP

1. To increase salary. -52.94%2. Bonus, leave can be arranged timely by the owners. -52.94%3. Local people can help to develop consciousness about labour’s rights. -47.06%4. Owner can supply essential tools. -35.29%5. Owner can increase salary. -35.29%6. Rules and regulations can be formulated by the government for labour`s job. -29.41%7. Local people can be sympathetic. -23.53%8. Media can play role to solve labour problems. -23.53%9. Owners can increase the medical facilities. -17.65%10. Government should be conscious about labour’s right. -17.65%

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Chapter

OIL GROUP1. To communicate the problems to the contractors or foremen. -55.56%2. To learn more about the job. -55.56%3. Owner can supply necessary elements like gloves, shoes, caps and clothes etc.-33.33%4. Media can show the problems and prospects to the country. -33.33%5. To be able to send more money to family. -22.22%6. Owner can make good arrangement for food and habitation. -22.22%7. Government can fix a satisfactory wage scale. -22.22%8. Local people should be sympathetic to the labour. -22.22%9. To get a chance to be educated.-11.11%10. Owner can increase the wage. -11.11%

DOORS GROUP1. Owner can increase the wage. - 44.44%2. Owner can increase the bonus facility.-33.33%3. Have to be more serious about the job.-22.22%4. To be educated. -22.22%5. Government can create employment. -22.22%6. Local people can be helpful for labour. -22.22%7. Owner can take care of labour.-11.11%8. Government can create a peaceful country. -11.11%9. Government can help companies to buy more ships. -11.11%10. Government can create some opportunities for education. -11.11%

BASIN/ KITCHEN ITEMS GROUP1. We have to be more serious or respectful to the job. - 57.14%2. The shop owners and the companies can increase the wage. - 57.14%3. If we can get the chance, we have to be educated. - 42.86%4. We can influence the owners to increase the wage. - 42.86%5. Owner can increase the bonus facility. - 42.86%6. Local people can behave well. - 42.86%7. To be responsible. - 28.57%8. Government can create some employments. - 28.57%9. The owner can buy more ships. -14.49%10. Owners can increase the other facility. -14.49%

CABLES GROUP1. Owner can increase the wage. - 66.67%2. Owner can increase the facility of bonus. - 66.67%3. To influence the businessmen to give more facility to the female workers than maleworkers. -50.00%4. To be more responsible. -50.00%5. Government can solve the habitation problems. -50.00%6. Media can disseminate information about the problems of this industry. -50.00%7. Government can solve various problems.-33.33%8. Local people can be helpful to the labour. -33.33%9. Owner can buy more and more ships.-16.67%10. Government can reduce the tax of buying ships. -16.67%

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Chapter

FEMALE WORKER

1. Owner can increase the wage and bonus so that they can give us more money.50.00%2. Local people can be well-behaved.-50.00%3. To ask the foremen to increase the salary.33.33%4. Government can give habitation facility.-33.33%5. To get money in stead of rice.-16.67%6. To make the job permanent. -16.67%7. To take care of health. -16.67%8. Owner can give some money for treatment. -16.67%9. Government can make arrangements for taking meal. -16.67%10. Government can give free medical services. -16.67%

PAINTS GROUP

1. To continue our education-80.00%2. Owner can increase the wage.-60.00%3. Owner can bring more ships.-40.00%4. Government can create more scope for work.-40.00%5. To be able to send more money to our family.-20.00%6. Government can stop the tax. -20.00%7. Government can help the child labour. -20.00%8. Government can help the businessmen of paints.-20.00%9. Local people can behave well with us. -20.00%10. Local people have to be united. -20.00%

TEA STALL GROUP

1. Owner can increase the wage.-80.00%2. No reply.-60.00%3. Thinking the problems from our point of view.-40.00%4. Owner can manage arrangement for food and habitation. -40.00%5. Government can establish a hospital. -40.00%6. Government should observe the situation. -40.00%7. Local people should behave well. -40.00%8. Local people should help us.-40.00%9. Media can show the problems of ship yard. -40.00%10. To work with freedom.-20.00%

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chapter

1. Babul, A.R.2002. Study on Ship Breaking Industry: Bangladesh Perspective. CoastalAssociation for Social Transformation Trust.

2. ILO, 2003. Draft guidelines on safety and health in shipping. Bangkok. 93pp.3. DNT NORSKE VERITAS (DNV). 1999. Technical Report. Norwegian Ministry of

Environment, Norwegian Ship owners Association, Norway.4. Khan, Y. S. and Jabber, S. M. A. 1998. Impact of Ship Scrapping on the Coastal

Environment of Bangladesh. Institute of Marine Science, University of Chittagong.5. Ronning, M. 2000. Stuck in the Mud: On ship breaking labour, condition, and

Environment in Chittagong, Bangladesh.6. Senauke. A.2000. A report titled ‘Ship breaking`. Buddhist Peace Foundation,

Sanfrancisco.7. Rahman, G.S.1994. Manobadhiker Vashsho. Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

656 pp.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

5 8

Chapter

APPENDICES

Chapter

1.0 APPENDICESAPPENDIX 1.1 CRITERIA OF STAFFS IN SHIPBREAKING INDUSTRIES1.1.1 Staffs in yard

Though the staffs in the yard are not as important as the workers but the staffs have thepotentiality to aware the authority about the labour rights in some aspects. They can alsohelp the labour in different way. In addition, some staffs are not aware about the rights oflabour that cases they need to be aware.

1.1.1.1 Age of the staffCONTRACTOR

Age Percentage (%) of contractor

50-54 66.6754-58 33.33

Table 1 : Age class and percentage of the contractors.

CLERK / SUPERVISOR

Age Percentage (%) of Clerk/Supervisor

22-26 16.6726-30 50.0030-34 33.33

Table 2 : Age class and percentage of the Clerk/Supervisor.

SECURITY GUARD

Age Percentage (%) of Security guard

18-22 33.3322-26 16.6734-38 16.6738-42 33.33

Table 3 : Age class and percentage of the Security guard.

1.1.1.2 Marital status of the staff

Category Married Unmarried

Contractor 100% 0.00%Clerk/Supervisor 66.67% 33.33%Security guard 83.33% 16.67%

Table 4 : Marital status of Contractor, Clerk/Supervisor and Security guard.

APPENDICES

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Chapter

1.1.1.3 Sex of the staff

Category Male Female

Contractor 100% 0.00%Clerk/Supervisor 100% 0.00%Security guard 100% 0.00%Table 5 : Sex of Contractor, Clerk/Supervisor and Security guard.

1.1.1.4 District of the staff

CONTRACTORChittagong-100%

CLERK / SUPERVISOR

District Percentage (%) of Clerk/Supervisor

Chittagong 83.33Bogra 16.67

Table 6 : District and the percentage of the Clerk/Supervisor

SECURITY GUARD

District Percentage (%) of Security guard

Chittagong 33.33Cox'sBazar 16.67Naogaon 16.67Patuakhali 16.67Panchagar 16.67Table 7 : District and the percentage of the Security guard.

1.1.1.5 Educational qualification of the staff

CONTRACTOR

Education Percentage (%) of the Contractor

H.S.C 33.33Graduate 66.67

Table 8 : Educational qualification of the contractor

APPENDICES

6 1

ChapterCLERK / SUPERVISOR

Education Percentage (%) of the Clerk/Supervisor

Primary 16.67ClassVIII 16.67Graduate 66.67Table 9 : Educational qualification of the Clerk/Supervisor.

SECURITY GUARD

Education Percentage of Security guard

None 16.67Primary 50.00S.S.C 16.67H.S.C 16.67

Table 10 : Educational qualification of the Security guard.

1.1.1.6 Working hour and salary of the staff

CONTRACTOR

Working hr/day Percentage of Contractor Average (salary/month) in taka

6 16.67 No reply7 50.00 No reply8 16.67 No reply10 16.67 10,000

Table 11 : Working hour and Salary of the Contractor.

CLERK / SUPERVISOR

Working hr/day Percentage of Clerk/Supervisor Average (salary/month) in taka

8 16.67 5000.009 16.67 3000.0011 33.33 6000.0012 16.67 5000.0013 16.67 10000.00Table 12 : Working hour and Salary of the Clerk/Supervisor.

APPENDICES

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Chapter

SECURITY GUARD

Working hr/day Percentage of Security guard Average (salary/month) in taka

8 50.00 2566.6612 50.00 1800.00

Table 13 : Working hour and Salary of the Security guard.

1.1.1.7 Problems of the staff

The problems under each group are given below with the percentage of staffs.

CONTRACTOR

1. Accidents take place and workers are injured very often.-66.67%2. Have the chance of facing loss if the ship’s condition is not good. -66.67%3. Local gas traders sometimes increase the rate of gas without any reason. -66.67%4. Because of not having modern technology to cut ships the cost of cutting ships is veryhigh.-50.00%5. There are no hospitals or clinics near the ship breaking yards so that the contractorshave to face problems when any labour is seriously injured. -50.00%6. Telecommunication and power supply are not good enough.-33.33%7. Contractors have the possibility of facing loss because they fix the rate of cutting shipson the basis of their ideas.-16.67%8. There is no law and regulation. -16.67%9. There is not enough space in the yards. -16.67%10. No understanding among the owners, contractors and labour. -16.67%

CLERK/ SUPERVISOR

1. Too much working pressure but fewer wages. - 66.67%2. No bonus and pension facility. -50.00%3. Telecommunication and power supply are not good enough. -33.33%4. No medical facility. -33.33%5. Unhygienic working environment. -16.67%6. Risk of accidents. -16.67%7. Tough to look after the whole yard for one. -16.67%8. Have to face problems when any labour injured severely. -16.67%9. Complicated work. -16.67%10. No arrangement for proper place of taking meal. -16.67%

APPENDICES

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ChapterSECURITY GUARD

1. Salary is not enough.-50.00%2. Risky job.-33.33%3. No arrangement for pure drinking water. -33.33%4. No reply. -33.33%5. No freedom and respect at work.-16.67%6. Can’t take breath freely. -16.67%7. Tough to look after the whole yard for one. -16.67%8. Lack of necessary elements like stick, gun and cloth. -16.67%9. No vacation. -16.67%10. No system for habitation or medical facility. -16.67%

1.1.1.8 Recommendation of the staff to solve the problems

The recommendations from each group are given below with the percentage of staffs.

CONTRACTOR1. Media can inform the country people about the problems and prospects of this indus-try. -66.67%2. Owner can use modern and automatic technology. -50.00%3. Owner can take initiatives safe for work, medical facility and to reduce risk of acci-dent. -50.00%4. Government can consider the shipbreaking as an industry. -50.00%5. We can take steps to reduce the chance of facing loss. -33.33%6. We can decrease the cost of cutting ships. -33.33%7. All have to be united. -16.67%8. We should operate the whole activities with more efficiency. -16.67%9. Owner can increase wage, bonus and vacation by discussing with the labour andcontractors. -16.67%10. Government can make laws. -16.67%

CLERK/ SUPERVISOR1. Owner can increase facility. -50.00%2. Government can make rules and regulations in ship yards.-50.00%3. We can say to increase wage. -33.33%4. Can display the prospects and problems of this industry. -33.33%5. Can spread information to improve the working condition. -33.33%6. We can influence to make arrangement for taking meal and pure water. -16.67%7. We can speak to improve the working condition. -16.67%8. We can inform the owners about the problems. -16.67%9. Owner can influence the wage, establish hospitals and schools. -16.67%10. Owner can set up a clinic so that the labour can get free medical services. -16.67%

APPENDICES

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Chapter

SECURITY GUARD1. Owner can permanent the job, increase the wage, vacation and habitation facility. -66.67%2. Government can establish hospitals. -50.00%3. Media can inform the problems of this industry to the government.-33.33%4. We have to be more conscious. -16.67%5. Owner can supply the necessary elements. -16.67%6. Owner should ensure the security. -16.67%7. Owner can buy more ships. -16.67%8. Government can set up water pump. -16.67%9. Government can influence the owners to increase the wage. -16.67%10. Government can help the owners. -16.67%

1.1.2 Staffs outside the yard

The managers or businessmen also have potentiality as they often have easy access to theship yards, they know very much about the hazardous condition of the shipyards. They canconvince and influence the contractor and companies about ensuring the worker’s rights indifferent ways.

1.1.2.1 Age of the staff

Age Class Percentage of Manager/Staff Percentage of Businessman

< 1 8 0.00 1.1518-22 16.67 3.4522-26 8.33 18.3926-30 8.33 36.7830-34 16.67 8.0534-38 25.00 17.2438-42 16.67 9.2042-46 0.00 2.3046-50 8.33 3.4550-54 0.00 0.0054-58 0.00 0.00

Table 14 : Age class of the Manager/Staff and Businessman outside the yard.

1.1.2.2 Marital status of the staff

Category Married UnmarriedManager/Staff 66.67% 33.33%Businessman 47.13% 52.87%

Table 15 : Marital status of the Manager/Staff and Businessman outside the yard.

APPENDICES

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Chapter

1.1.2.3 Sex of the staff

Category Male Female

Manager/Staff 100% 0.00%Businessman 100% 0.00%

Table 16 : Sex of the Manager/Staff and Businessman outside the yard.

1.1.2.4 District of the staff

MANAGER

District Percentage of Manager/Staff

Barisal 16.67Chittagong 58.33Comilla 8.33Netrokona 8.33Noakhali 8.33

Table 17 : District of the Manager/Staff outside the yard.

BUSINESSMAN

Chittagong-100%

1.1.2.5 Educational qualification of the staff

MANAGER/STAFF

Category Percentage of Manager/Staff

None 16.67Only name 8.33Primary 8.33S.S.C 33.33H.S.C 8.33Graduate 25.00

Table 18 : Educational qualification of the Manager/Staff outside the yard.

APPENDICES

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Chapter

BUSINESSMAN

Category Percentage of Businessman

None 5.75Primary 10.34ClassVI 1.15ClassVII 2.30ClassVIII 4.60ClassIX 2.30S.S.C 20.69H.S.C 25.29Graduate 26.44Masters 1.15

Table 19 : Educational qualification of the Businessman.

1.1.2.6 Working hour and salary of the staff

MANAGER/ STAFF

Working hour/day Percentage of Manager/Staff Average Salary (taka) /month8 8.33 500010 58.33 550012 33.33 2550

Table 20 : Working hour and Salary of the Manager/Staff outside the yard.

BUSINESSMAN

Working hour/day Percentage of Businessman Average salary (taka) / month8 3.45 9000.009 6.90 33800.0010 31.03 26500.0011 5.75 23500.0012 17.24 11516.6713 2.30 28000.0014 6.90 20333.33

Not specified 26.44 11107.00Table 21: Working hour and Salary of the Businessman.

In case of Average salary/month- “No reply” of Businessman-17.24%

APPENDICES

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Chapter

1.1.2.7 Problems of the staffMANAGER/STAFF

1. Wage is not enough. -33.33%2. No reply.-25.00%3. Hard to manage the living cost with this wage. -16.67%4. No problem. -16.67%5. There are many competitors in the market but the yards are limited. -16.67%6. Have to stay in the shop in spite of sickness. -8.33%7. Nobody can run their business except the local people. -8.33%8. It is really difficult to survive with such type of salary.9. If there is not enough gas the work is stopped. -8.33%10. Load shading also sometimes interrupts the work. -8.33%

BUSINESSMAN

Figure 22 : Major ten problems of businessmen.

Here, the major ten problems of businessmen are-1. There are very much competition in this business so have the risk of loss.2. Have not enough investment.3. If the buying prices worth more than the selling price of scrap irons/materials thenhave to face loss.4. Have to buy scraps through tender which sometimes create problems.5. VAT charge is very high.6. The business does not run well when there are no ships in the yards.7. Company’s own people can buy in low price where as the general businessmen haveto buy in a high price, so they can’t last in the competition.8. The place of the business centre is not convenient and adequate enough.9. If there are no ships or there are few ships in the yards the price of the scrapedmaterials are increased. Most of the time the businessmen have to buy scraps withoutexamining properly, as a result some low quality materials are also be included.10. Companies always fix an unreasonable rate, for the general businessman, to sellscraps.

APPENDICES

6 8

Chapter

1.1.2.8 Recommendation of the staff

MANAGER/STAFF

1. Local people can be co-operative to all. -41.67%2. We can use the hard labour, experience and honesty. -33.33%3. Government can reduce the pressure of tax from the businessmen. -33.33%4. Owner can buy more ships. -25.00%5. Owner can increase the wage. -16.67%6. Owner can continue giving the present facility. -16.67%7. Owner can build a frankly relationship with all. -16.67%8. Government can establish hospitals. -16.67%9. Government can increase the other facility. -16.67%10. Media can display the problems of the labour. -16.67%

BUSINESSMEN

Figure 23 : Major ten suggestions of businessmen to solve the problem.

Here, the major ten suggestions of businessmen to solve the problem are1. Owner can sell goods in a common rate.2. Government can be flexible about tax.3. We have to increase the investment.4. Government can arrange facility to get loan from the banks in easy and short terms.5. Owner can buy ship regularly.6. Local people can be helpful and responsible to solve the mentioned problems earlier.7. Government can arrange some facilities (loan, flexible tax, hospital, fair administra-tion etc.) for the businessmen.8. Media can play a good role to solve the problems of the businessmen.9. Media can inform the problems of this industry to the people.10. Local people can be united to solve any problems related to shipbreaking.

APPENDICES

6 9

Chapter

Photograph 1 : A typical view of ship breaking yard.

Photograph 2 : A ship is waiting to die.

APPENDIX 1.2 PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BASE LINE STUDY

APPENDICES

7 0

Chapter

Photograph 3 : A labour of cutter group is cuttting iron plate.

Photograph 4 : Common scenario of plate/loading group in yard.

APPENDICES

7 1

Chapter

Photograph 5 : Labour of wire group are pulling wire on shoulders.

Photograph 6 : Hitting on screw or iron is the criteria of hammer group.

APPENDICES

7 2

Chapter

Photograph 8 : A intimate moment during the interview of labour.

Photograph 7 : Survey team members of YPSA, busy with interview of labour.

APPENDICES

7 3

Chapter

Photograph 9 : A view of furniture shop based on ship breakin

Photograph 10 : Some tanks from ship outside the yard

APPENDICES

7 4

Chapter

APPENDIX 1.3 QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE BASE LINE STUDY

PROJECT TITLE :Advocacy for a Public Policy to Ensure Human Rights

in Shipbreaking Industry

IMPLEMENTED BY– YPSA SUPPORTED BY– manusher jonno

BASE LINE STUDY (QUESTIONNAIRE)

1. What is your name ?

2. How old are you ?

3. Sex :

4. Marital Status :

5. Permanent Address ?

6. Educational qualification ?

7. Profession & working area ?

Married Unmarried Widow/Widower Others

Primary S.S.C H.S.C Graduate Others

Male Famale

APPENDICES

7 5

Chapter

8. Have you dealt with any kind of agreement before joining in this job ?

9. How long have you been doing this job for ?

10. What was your previous job ?

11. What are the responsibilities of your job ?

12. Why have you chosen this job ?

Willingly Influenced by someone.

Getting no opportunity for another job. Other reasons

13. Did you have any idea about the present job ?

14. How many hours do you work per day ?

APPENDICES

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Chapter

15. Income/Wages ?

a) Daily : b) Monthly :

16. a) Do you get any bonus or advantages in this job ?

Yes No Others

b) If the answer is ‘Yes’, what kind of advantage do you get?

Bonus Overtime Medical allowance

Housing allowance Increment Others

17. a) Do you get any break in working period ?

Yes No Others

b) If the answer is ‘Yes’, how long is it for ?

18. a) Do you get any vacation in this job ?

Yes No Others

b) If the answer is ‘Yes’, how many days ?

Weekly Monthly Annually

19. Where do you take meal generally ?

20. What kind of standard you maintain in these below matters ?

Matters Very good Good Not good Very bad Comments

Standard of food

Standard of sanitation

Standard of habitation

APPENDICES

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Chapter

21. Do you get any medical facility ?

22. What kind of advantages you get in case of accident ?

Treatment Leave with salary Leave without salary

Compensation Others

23. What do you do in your leisure time?

Watch TV/V.C.R. Cinema Visiting

Enjoy with music Sports/ Games Others

24. Are you satisfied with your job ?

Financially

Others

25. What kind of problems do you have in this job ?

26. What is the condition of your family ?

a) Total members : b) Earning members :

c) Do you stay with your family ?

APPENDICES

7 8

ADVANTAGE Verysatisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very

dissatisfied Comments

Chapter

27. Are you habituated with sexual life ?

Yes No Others

a) If the answer is ‘Yes’, with whom ?

Wife/ Husband Regular partner Sex worker

Others

28. What kind of steps should be taken to make your work better ?

What can you do ?

What the owners should do ?

What the govt. should do ?

What can the local people do ?

What can the media do ?

Others :

APPENDICES

7 9